Brian M. French

A trial lawyer with extensive experience in federal and state courts across the country, Brian is a business litigation partner in Cooley’s New York office. He represents public and private companies, financial institutions, boards and executives in high-stakes securities, M&A, antitrust and other complex litigation. His matters range from multibillion-dollar class actions to bet-the-company commercial disputes, and he regularly advises boards and management teams on corporate governance, strategy and crisis management. In 2025, Financier Worldwide named Brian to its Power Players: Trial Lawyers list, which recognizes five leading trial lawyers in the US. Brian is also a thought leader and has guest lectured on M&A and Delaware litigation at Harvard Law School.

Brian’s recent representations include:

• Representing Freshworks and current officers and directors in a securities class action in the US District Court for the Northern District of California and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit arising from Freshworks’ initial public offering
• Representing Illumina and current and former officers and directors in securities class actions in California federal and state courts, and a former Illumina officer in a derivative action in the Delaware Court of Chancery, all arising from Illumina’s acquisition of GRAIL
• Representing Exscientia and former officer and directors in a securities class action in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey
• Representing NVIDIA and current and former officers and directors in derivative actions in Delaware and California courts
• Representing Eagle Pharmaceuticals and former officers in a securities class action in the District of New Jersey
• Representing TFI International and current officers and director in a securities class action in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY)
• Representing well-known startups in fraud class actions in California courts arising from the sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
• Represented Lynk Global in busted-deal litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery arising from a proposed deSPAC transaction with SLAM Corp.
• Represented CMB Monaco against civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims in the US District Court for the Central District of California
• Represented Qualcomm and current and former officers and directors in a shareholder class action in the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Represented Katapult and current and former officers and directors in a securities fraud class action in the SDNY arising from Katapult’s deSPAC transaction with FinServ Acquisition Corp.
• Represented former officers and directors of FinServ Acquisition Corp. in a shareholder class action in the Delaware Court of Chancery arising from FinServ Acquisition Corp.’s deSPAC transaction with Katapult
• Represented former officers of MabVax Therapeutics in multiple fraud actions in New York and California courts
• Represented a premier electric car company, CEO, and current and former directors in a securities fraud class action in the Northern District of California arising from a potential going-private transaction
• Represented Meredith and four current and former officers and directors in a securities fraud class action in the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa and the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit arising from Meredith’s acquisition of Time
• Represented current and former officers and directors of Qualcomm in a derivative action in the US District Court for the District of Delaware
• Represented NVIDIA in a Section 220 books and records action in the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Represented Qualcomm in a Section 220 books and records action in the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Represented a former Mindbody director and Institutional Venture Partners in a shareholder class action in the Delaware Court of Chancery arising from Vista Equity Partners’ acquisition of Mindbody
• Represented a former Mindbody director in a securities fraud class action in the SDNY arising from Vista Equity Partners’ acquisition of Mindbody
• Represented Rappi in contract and tort litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Represented a former Barclays gold trader in antitrust litigation in the SDNY arising from participation in the London Gold Fix
• Represented former directors of a biopharmaceutical company in a securities class action in the SDNY arising from acquisition by a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
• Represented Qualcomm in numerous high-stakes disputes and investigations around the world relating to the company’s patent licensing and modem chipset businesses, including:
• Representing Qualcomm in US federal and state courts and before the US International Trade Commission*
• Representing Qualcomm before regulatory agencies in the US, Europe, Korea and Taiwan*
• Advising Qualcomm on litigations in the UK, Germany, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan*
• Represented Credit Suisse in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) litigations in state and federal courts nationwide*
• Represented JPMorgan Chase & Co. in RMBS litigation in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington*
• Represented one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies in connection with the US Food and Drug Administration’s abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) process and potential related litigation*

*Representation handled before joining Cooley

Brian clerked for Chief Judge Mary Beck Briscoe of the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where was an articles editor for the Georgetown Law Journal.